‘Farmers’ protests’ have once again become a national issue. This time, it is not the suicide of farmers but of assertion and anger expressed on the roads in the cities and challenging the state machinery. If we listen to the videos or read the media reports, various people taking part in these agitations expressed price rise and farm loans as their major concerns and demands. But does that explain the full picture?

Read my full commentary on thewire.com on the issue by clicking here

 

In the past six months, three farmers have committed suicide in various parts of Rajasthan especially in the northern region (including districts of Ganganagar and Hanumangarh). In the month of June, a farmer in the Ganganagar district of Rajasthan had committed suicide leaving behind a video message on social media accusing the state government of its failure in implementing the loan waiver. It appears that after Marathwada and Vidarbha regions of Maharashtra, these parts of Rajasthan are also in the process of becoming new suicide hotspots. Continue reading →

It has been two weeks of JNU students’ protests against a proposed fee hike in JNU. The Federation of Central Universities Teachers’ Association also protested jointly with teachers’, students and Karmcharis of the central universities against the New Education Policy on 14^th November 2019. In the ongoing media propaganda probably one would see two events differently. JNU protests would be seen as a specific campus-related story whereas the FEDCUTA protest is about the large-scale policy changes.

In reality, both the protests need to be seen together in order to understand the ramifications of the proposed marketization of the education system in general and the higher education system in particular. It should also be seen as an effort by universities in Delhi to refuse to be used as sites of experiments for various policy changes in the field of education.

The proposed large-scale structural changes in the New Education Policy would fundamentally alter the nature of education as well as the education system of the country. Universities in Delhi including Delhi University, JNU, and Jamia Milia Islamia are at the epicenter of this project of educational restructuring. Ranging from introducing new admission process, newer academic programs and above all administrative restructuring are few such examples. The objectives of these political projects are not only to destroy the very idea of these universities (especially DU and JNU) but also to set them as a model for other universities to replicate the similar structural changes in all the central universities across India. I don’t want to repeat about JNU has a lot has already been written on this. But I would like to highlight some features of the structural shift that is in making.

Though the project of restructuring education began during the UPA II regime, under the new regime the whole pyramid of public-funded university education systems in India is facing an existential threat. When the larger focus of concerned citizens about JNU is on the academic misgovernance and administrative turmoil in the university, a major restructuring of the Indian university system is underway as a major political project. Besides, by spreading the hate propaganda against JNU through the electronic as well as print media the opportunity is being seized by the present regime to delegitimize any criticism of academic policy or educational policy emanating from the capital city.

JNU was amongst the first universities to implement some of the new policies in the realm of the higher education system after independence. These policies were outcomes of learning from the international higher education system and also the emerging educational requirements in the Indian socio-economic conditions. It was these policy experiments and deliberations that helped to build the academic reputation of JNU not only in the Indian higher education system but also in global academia.

Few such initiatives were: a semester system in place of yearly academic session system, choice-based credit system instead of a system based upon the total number of courses, grading system in place of marks system and an entrance exam based system in place of marks based ‘merit’ system.

The Delhi University was a contrast case. Unlike JNU it was a much bigger university with a large number of affiliated colleges and a range of academic disciplines and courses. Besides, DU was a much older institution than what JNU was. While JNU started contributing to the academic life of the country much later, DU had already set standards of college education and management of a large-scale educational institution through its highly competitive undergraduate programs.

JNU could provide a more amicable environment for teaching as well as research due to its small size along with closed campus. Consequently, its academic structures had gained popularity across the Indian academic system. Though it has also invited criticism of this model from various corners, there was a national consensus about contributions made by JNU and how it transformed the lives of not only its students as well as teachers.

Any kind of structural change in the Indian university system wouldn’t have been possible without destroying these two universities. Consequently, political regimes have been using these two great institutions as experimental tools to implement their kind of policies in the realm of higher education.

DU was the first university to face such assault in 2010 when the then Vice-Chancellor Dinesh Singh forcefully implemented the FOUR Year Undergraduate Program, a choice based credit system (CBCS) and semester system in the University of Delhi. Both policies were implemented in the university in an authoritarian manner without consulting the teacher’s representative bodies. Despite massive opposition to these initiatives the DU Vice-Chancellor refused to listen to the teachers’ body and implemented his decisions by using bureaucratic authority and powers vested in his office by the university acts. The UPA II government offered full support to all these efforts of the Vice-Chancellor

Meanwhile, 12 new central universities were established in the year 2009 to expand the higher education system. However, contrary to the erstwhile system where every university was governed by its own act with specific objectives, fields of knowledge and inquiry, the new system was to be governed by a common Act for all the universities. The new act was an amalgamation of the DU and JNU system. Besides, the UGC also came up with a centrally devised common governance structure in which there was no space for teachers’ representative bodies or students representative bodies. The new system was a highly bureaucratized system minus local requirements or realities. The new university system in this sense was to be more of a bureaucratic technical system in place of a knowledge-seeking system with deliberations, consultations, and space for democratization.

With the BJP government coming to power in 2014 with the stage already set for structural change in the new education system, the new government decided to launch structural destruction in a full-fledged manner. Introduction of Higher Education Funding Agency, Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding with defined objectives to be achieved, the idea of institutions of eminence with financial autonomy, etc. were few such policy decisions. Above all, the idea of a Higher Education Regulating Authority was to convert the higher education system in a highly centralized mechanized, bureaucratic-technocratic system of education where the focus was to be on the distribution of degrees rather than promoting innovation and freedom of expression.

But the real challenge was- how to achieve this. This time the policymakers decided to shift their laboratory from DU to JNU and this time used JNU teachers and students as their experimental subjects. The current Vice-Chancellor also performed his role as a destructor with full honesty quite like his DU predecessor. JNU would have been the best role model to implement all new decisions without any resistance from other universities. The only major challenge to such efforts would have come from the Delhi University and JNU teachers and student movements who had resisted all such moves.

The new government also thought of a university leadership that would implement all of this without questioning the motive of the government. Though most of the Vice Chancellors in India act like this someone who could do it proactively was selected for this job. The present JNU Vice-Chancellor after taking office refused to take into account any suggestions or inputs coming from the teachers or students representative body.

Instead, efforts were made to create all kinds of divisions between the university fraternity by introducing newer admission rules, restructuring the teaching-learning process, sabotaging the recruitment process and above all implementing newer hostel rules. The arrest of JNUSU president and the political development after that were efforts to divert attention from some of the structural changes which were to be implemented under the cover of these national-level debates. JNU teacher representatives have been receiving show-cause notices and other letters for raising their voice even on the issues that concern the teaching and learning exercise in the university.

These practices are now setting standard operating procedures for other university administrators as well. All Central Universities have refused to recognize teachers’ representative bodies. Students have not been given due representation in the decision making the process of the universities. The JNU was amongst the first universities to apply for a 500 crore rupees loan from the higher education funding agency along with a plan of converting JNU property into a commercial property. In addition, JNU signed the Tripartite MOU with the MHRD and UGC in a highly secretive manner. JNU also applied for the Institution of Eminence tag but couldn’t manage it despite efforts by the current university administration.

The recent controversy about new hostel charges and an increase in the fee is not only about increasing charges but also about denying the real stakeholders any role in this process and also setting a model for the universities across India for users’ payment model. Under this new model, the user must pay for all the services and also for the maintenance as they would have paid in any private university.

Followed by JNU, now the University of Delhi is in process of replicating some of the policy decisions implemented by JNU including looking for Institution of Eminence status, applying for a HEFA loan, signing a tripartite MOU. Reworking on the hostel rules and fee structures would be the next step in the pipeline in all central universities.

It is against this long-term state plan that the JNU students and teachers’ are fighting against it. The FEDCUTA protest is also highlighting similar concerns. The implementation of all the new policy decisions which are being implemented in JNU now would gradually destroy the very nature of publicly funded, the subsidized education system of India. Besides, it would also destroy the quest for a just, equal society for which the foundation of a democratic, open and politically vibrant education system is a prerequisite.

In March 2018, the NDA government had launched the policy of defense industry corridors. The first defense corridor was launched in UP in August last year and the second corridor has been launched on 10 February 2019 in Tamil Nadu. The second corridor is going to come up in UP. According to the government, the basic objective of these corridors is to promote the domestic defense industry for self-reliance. Currently, India imports a majority of its arms and other defense equipment from Russia (around 68 %).

Though the government has declared self-reliance in defense and job creation as two major objectives of this policy, the real focus would also be on export promotion. In the new model of export-oriented economic growth, these corridors are expected to be a major driver of making India as a defense equipment-manufacturing hub.

Apart from the concerns raised related to the economic viability of defense corridors and the ability of Indian firms to produce world-class defense equipment and technology, the implications of this policy are likely to change India’s role in global affairs. It will have also serious implications on domestic politics as well. Apart from the economic concerns related to the possibilities and liabilities of such programs, the promotion of industrialization in the field of defense-related items would bring a major shift in some of the ethical paradigms of Indian democracy. It is also likely to bring in alterations in welfare-related priorities of the Indian state. Looking at the implementation of this policy three such major issues can be highlighted.

Domestic implications

First and foremost, the acquisition of agricultural land is a precondition for establishing such corridors (quite like Special Export Zones). For this purpose, major land acquisition is being carried out. A majority of SEZs for which major land was acquired continues to remain unutilized. Most of the projects didn’t take off due to various reasons. In such a situation another drive for land acquisition would adversely impact the livelihood of the farmers and other groups. These corridors will result in dispossession of a large number of farming families and migration to the other nearby cities. For the Bundelkhand Defense Corridor around 3000 acres of land is to be acquired in the districts of Aligarh, Kanpur, Agra, Jhansi, and Chitrakoot. Similarly, in Tamil Nadu land is to be acquired in the regions of Trichy, Chennai, Hosur, and Coimbatore.

The selection of areas for the production of defense products is also a major concern. In the case of UP, the Bundelkhand region has been selected for the defense corridor. This region has been historically known for its violent, feudal culture. The region had suffered from bandits for a very long time. It is almost an efforts of four decades by various groups (including Gandhian leaders like Vinoba Bhave and many other local leaders and civil society activists) played a crucial role in disarming some of these groups and bring them back in the mainstream social life. The region has become relatively stable only in the last two decades and still struggling hard to overcome its social and economic backwardness. Any such attempts to promote the arms industry in a region that is struggling with poverty and underdevelopment is more likely to revive the culture of bloodshed.

The government has declared the creation of jobs as one of the objectives of promoting the defense corridor. In the case of the Tamil Nadu Defense corridor, it has given the logic of having a large number of engineering colleges along with other technical support bases in the region. However, no such knowledge base exists in Bundelkhand. Besides, the region is also known for its highly unskilled labor. In such a scenario, the only job creation that can happen through defense corridors is in the construction industry and least likely to generate jobs in any meaningful way. A policy like the defense corridor would destroy the peace of a backward region like Bundelkhand by reviving a culture of violence and armament and is likely to push it back in history.

Apart from the concerns of land, livelihood and job creation, there are serious issues involved with regard to the defense production, functioning of these markets and regulating their access to the people. Though there are legal mechanisms in place, which prevent misuse of arms and defense products, with the rise of the indigenous defense industry there will be a fundamental change in the context of these legal mechanisms. This would no more be a simple question of allowing or disallowing people to procure or possess such items. The industry would also play a major role in pressurizing the government to open up the domestic market for such products along with allowing exports.

The upcoming defense industry would look for effective buyers for its products within the domestic market. The private sector’s objective is to make its products profitable by reducing costs and also creating effective buyers for its products. The domestic market is the easiest available option for this purpose. Apart from the Indian armed forces, a natural buyer of some of these products, there is already an emerging big market for such products in the metro cities. Any rise in the domestic defense production is likely to result in decline in the prices of these products (including small electrical items, heavy defense equipment, and arms and ammunition) making them accessible to the population that is otherwise yet not exposed to such products.

Apart from the pricing related dynamics, the defense producers are likely to create a market for their products by propagating and advertising a sense of insecurity. This will also promote private sector security agencies. A new nexus between the defense companies, electronic media and security agencies is likely to emerge in this case (as is the case in other countries especially in the US). This new nexus would also like to get access to various data sets being used by government agencies or even by the private agencies.

The military-industrial complex has been characterized as a major feature of polities with a strong defense industry. This was also a major economic and political factor in the former Soviet Union. Its rising defense expenditure had eventually led to its complete downfall. The US has been a proactive player in various global conflicts in order to provide a bailout package to its defense industry, especially during the times of domestic or global economic crisis. Any defense industry runs on oil. The US intervention and military actions in the West Asian region are motivated by its plans to get its defense industry going by controlling the oil resources of the region.

The US could afford this kind of disastrous policy due to its exploitative economic system based upon profit motives without having socio-economic challenges like India’s. In the contemporary era of neoliberalism, a political system like India such an industrial policy is quite likely to be misused not only for the purpose of promoting conflict situations but also for the promotion of a specific cultural agenda.

This would also result in the gradual diversion of funds from welfare schemes to defense-related requirements. India’s defense budget is already rising and it falls into the two five countries with higher GDP allocated for defense requirements. But it is more likely to go up in the near future, as defense industrial promotion would require India spending more on oil and other raw material for this purpose.

In other words, this production process is likely to create a trap of insecurity to which the only answer would be more and more securitization. This is also likely to pose challenges to the notion of privacy. Besides, there have already been various forms of group animosity and violence in various parts of India. Any possibility of such groups getting access to defense technology would pose a challenge to the very idea of Indian democracy.

Redefining India’s Role in Global Affairs

Apart from aiming for the domestic market, the defense sector industrialization is also aiming at the global market. The international market can be accessed by targeting new buyers from various governments or to various groups involved in intra-state or inter-state conflict situations. By promoting defense exports India would be compelled to be a direct or indirect party to the global conflict situations. Besides, as a defense goods supplier its economic interests, rather than its commitment to global peace, would determine India’s interests. This will be a clear deviation from India’s decade-old stated objectives of foreign policy including its commitment to promote global peace and policy of non-intervention.

With a strong defense sector industrial base the foreign policy of a state gets determined by a narrow conception of national interest defines strictly in military terms. It gets devoid of any ethical or long-term goals aimed at global peace and stability. In view of defense industry considerations major foreign policy goals are governed by the market-related considerations for defense requirements, the supply of equipment and above all creation of such consumers in the domestic as well as in the global market. National interest will be determined by who are the probable consumers for the defense product. The manner in which US foreign policy has been of creating such consumers and then protecting the interests of industries who fulfill the defense-related requirements, India is more likely to follow a similar path.

Instead of investing in building new infrastructure projects and initiating land acquisition, the Indian government should focus on more coordination and efficiency in the existing production capacity. Besides, there is a need to have legal and institutional mechanisms in place to ensure concerns of equity, public safety and above all checking any form of domination and monopoly capitalism. In a time when farmers across India have been protesting against land grabbing and demanding their share in the country’s growth, India needs a more balanced defense policy and not defense industry capitalism.

To read full story click on the link given below

Sand Mafia Build Illegal Bunds In Ken River

 

गल्ली ब्वॉय फिल्म ने भावुक कर दिया था। ये कहानी थी एक ऐसे लड़के की जो अपने रोज़मर्रा के संघर्ष से ऊपर उठकर अपने लिए आधुनिक समाज में एक जगह बनाता है।  उसका संघर्ष ही इस फिल्म की कहानी लगती है।  पर इसमें कुछ लम्हे ऐसे हैं जो शायद इतनी गहराई से दर्शक का ध्यान न आकर्षित कर पाएं। संघर्ष के साथ साथ ये एक ऐसी मोहब्बत की कहानी भी है जो किसी शॉपिंग मॉल , महंगे कॉफ़ी हाउस , या फिर किसी बड़े कृत्रिम पार्क के आस पास, या किसी खूबसूरत नदी के किनारे बने लव स्पॉट (जो गुजरात में अहमदाबाद में  साबरमती नदी और उत्तर प्रदेश में लखनऊ में गोमती नदी के तट पर बने हैं यूरोप की तर्ज़ पर) नहीं थी।  ये धारावी के दो स्लम- कॉलोनियों के बीच बहने वाले एक (गंदे) नाले पर बने पुल पर थी।

इस नाले में पानी के ऊपर बनी पॉलीथिन की परत इस प्रेम कहानी का प्रेमानुकूल माहौल बनाता है। एक युवा लड़के और लड़की के बीच की ये मोहब्बत उन सामाजिक बंधनों के खिलाफ विद्रोह को दिखाता है जो उन्हें अपनी ज़िन्दगी को खुलेपन और आज़ादी से जीने से रोकते हैं।ये उस सोच के खिलाफ भी है जो कला को रोकने की कोशिश करता है।

दूसरी प्रचलित प्रेम कहानियों से इतर इस कहानी में लड़की को प्रेम का इज़हार करते हुए दिखाया गया है।  और प्रेम के इन लम्हों का केंद्र भी यही नाले का पुल है जिसमें पॉलीथिन ही रंगीन भूमिका है। इसी प्रेम कहानी का केंद्र है लड़की का पढाई के लिए लगातार संघर्ष करना।

हालाँकि लड़के के संघर्ष में लड़की के ये संघर्ष कहीं छिप से गए हैं पर उसका खुलकर ये कहना की “मैं भी एक साधारण लड़की जैसा जीवन जीना चाहती हूँ” प्रचलित सामाजिक फिरकापरस्त नियमों पर प्रहार है।ये वास्तव में गलियों का संघर्ष था जो महंगे घरों, बंद कॉलोनी या शॉपिंग मॉल में नहीं बल्कि गली – कूचे, घरों के बीच, छोटे घरों में रोजमर्रा के जीवन में होता है।  जिसमें नए साल के पल अपने आप को बताने वाले पल आते हैं की ‘अपना भी दिन आएगा।’  इसमें मोहब्बत फूलों, कार्ड्स, और गिफ्ट के आस पास नहीं होती, कीचड़, रेल के डिब्बों, बस की सीटों पर, या नालों के पुलों पर होती है।  शहरों को प्रेमानुकूल प्रेम के स्थान नहीं बल्कि प्रेम करने वालों की  भावनाएं बनाती हैं।

ये चुनौती है भारतीय समाज के कलाकारों, लेखकों और कमेंटेटर्स के लिए की वो मोहब्बत की नयी भाषा (language), नए स्थान (साइट्स), और नयी अभिव्यक्तियों (expressions) को कैसे और कहाँ स्थान देते हैं।  कला का एक रूप जो की एक मानवीय भावनाओं को एक ‘चीज़ (commodity), और बाज़ार (market) के आस पास ही दिखाता है, एक दूसरा भारत उस बाज़ार और अर्थव्यवस्था के साथ साथ अपने लिए एक नयी जगह बना रहा है। इसका केंद्र न तो कोई एक स्थापित परम्परा है और न ही पुराने उपलब्ध तरीके। एक नया युवा वर्ग अपने लिए नए तरीके तलाश रहा है। इसमें तकनीक भी है और नया बाजार भी। इस नए युवा की सोच को समझना और उसके तरीकों को समझना कला वर्ग के सामने एक चुनौती है।

इक्कीसवीं सदी का साहित्य और कला का विकास बाज़ारू संस्कृति के आस पास नहीं वरन इन नयी अभिव्यक्तियों और विप्लव के नए चित्रों और आवाज़ों के आस पास होगी। ये हमारे जैसे रिसर्चर और अकादमिशन के सामने नए समाज को समझने की चुनौती है। नयी सदी का समाज विज्ञानं इन्ही से तय होगा।  उन्नीसवीं और बीसवीं सदी के यूरोपीय और नए पैदा हो रहे धर्म और संस्कृति आधारित (हिंदूवादी, इस्लामी या क्रिस्चियन) समाज विज्ञानो से नहीं।

 

 

 

 

I was travelling back from Brasilia to India. It was the first flight from Brasilia to Rio De Janeiro. I have been travelling in the aeroplanes since last many years. I hardly have the travel sickness while flying. However, aeroplanes are not meant for travelling in known zones. Instead, they connect otherwise extremely faraway countries. From India, Brazil is on the other end of the world. Located in the Southern American continent, we know Brazil because of its football team only. I was quite fascinated that I was travelling to this beautiful country on earth. But, it was a long flight journey of almost 24 hours and more. While going to Brazil it was 26 hours but while returning it was almost 36 hours journey. One has to cross entire Asian continent, reach Europe (Rome in my case), cross Europe and fly to Africa (the Sahara Desert including), travel through the Atlantic Ocean and then comes the great Brazilian shores.

I had never travelled such a long journey by air before. I was a bit nervous while going to Brazil. What added more to this was when I lost my baggage in Sau Paulo. It took the airline two days to trace where it was lost and finally I got it back two days before my return journey. Meanwhile, I managed in the same clothes in which I had left Delhi.

I will write about my stay in Brasilia separately. But I started my return journey with same nervousness with all beautiful experiences. I boarded the flight of Avianca airline from Brasilia. Quite like India one witnesses beautiful diversity of people in Brazil as well. Sometimes its difficult to imagine that you are not in India. Many faces look so similar in terms of complexion, hair colour and height that one tends to think that most of the people travelling are Indians. This sense is less when one travels to Brasilia or Sau Paulo. On this route, a majority of populations is white skinned and Portuguese speaking. This generates a feeling of unbelonging to any person who is not from that part of the land that he or she is travelling in an alien territory.

However, flight to Rio was an entirely different experience. As I boarded the plane I found that my seat was in the middle of a family (a man, women and three young school or college going boys). They were looking almost like Indians. This could probably be my biased lens as well of judging people by their skin colour but in an alien land one tries to find similarities with people around and also feels nervous looking at people with entirely different features. This I assume is a human tendency. So when I saw that I was sitting amongst people who were quite like me I felt a bit relaxed. The piolet announced that we were going to take off. Everyone got busy with putting the seat belts on. I was sitting and thinking what should I do next- read a book, try to write something or maybe just sit back and think since it was only an hour long flight. The white-skinned air hostess ( I have never seen an exception so far) also started ensuring that everything and everyone is in order. I was feeling relaxed sitting in the middle of the man and a boy of the family. Two boys and the woman were sitting in the next row.

Suddenly, the man sitting next to me patted on my shoulder and offered his hand for a handshake. He said something in Portuguese which I didn’t understand. But I could guess that he was just trying to communicate his best wishes for the travel. After speaking a sentence he got settled and didn’t speak anything during the entire journey. I also got busy reading a novel. The boy sitting next to me started listening to some music.

The journey continued smoothly for an hour. Suddenly the plane started shaking heavily. Usually, it happens due to bad weather. I didn’t pay attention and continued reading. In the middle of this, the aeroplane bumped and everyone was shaken. Some people sitting at the back screamed. For a moment I felt that the plane was suddenly going down. Much before I could have made sense of this, the plane got settled in a few seconds. But I started feeling shaken from within. I was trying to settle down meanwhile I saw beautiful Brazilian hills which cover the city of Rio De Janeiro.

Passing through so many parts of the world was a beautiful experience, I had tried to capture some of these on my mobile camera. The hills near the city of Rio were of a different nature. Not very high but with sharp peaks and full of green cover was giving a beautiful feeling that the earth is green. I thought of capturing it on my phone. With shaking hands, I took out my phone unlocked it and started clicking pictures. Since mine was not a window seat I requested the boy who was sitting in the window seat to allow me to capture the beautiful view of the hills. He gave a smile and moved back. Before the view has been gone I clicked few pictures quickly. It was difficult for me to click with trembling hands. The boy looked outside first, looked at me and said softly- “help”.

By then I had clicked the pictures. So I thanked him but told him that I just needed some quick pictures for a memory. He smiled in return. He was a thin boy with curly hair wearing two chains made with some small Brazilian stones. Suddenly I saw a few more beautiful hills and also a view of the city. The aeroplane has already started descending. I thought of capturing a view of the city of Rio. I again unlocked my phone and tried to click. However, my hands started trembling terribly. Though I could capture the pictures, the boy could see that I was having trouble with clicking pictures. Meanwhile, the piolet made an announcement about landing in a few minutes. I sat back as I thought I had enough for the purpose of memory.

Suddenly the boy took his phone out and started typing quickly. After a minute he gave me his phone. With some reluctance, I looked at the phone screen. He had typed in google translation in Portuguese showing its English translation “Are you all right.”

I was speechless for a moment. I didn’t know how to react. He looked at his face and then looked back at the phone screen. Realizing that I need to answer this, I recovered from my state of astonishment. I replied: “Oh, Yes, but why did you ask this.” He spoke something again in Portuguese again. Realizing that he may not understand it I typed my reply, or maybe a counter question, in English.

He retyped: “I don’t like flying because I feel nervous. But because you were trembling I thought of asking you.” This took him a few more seconds to type it.

He again gave me his phone with his reply. I typed: “Oh. Yes. I also became nervous when the plane was shaking.” He read it and smiled.

“But still you were clicking pictures.” He again typed.

“Because Brazil is a beautiful country. I wanted to click the beauty.” I typed back.

“My English bad, only Portuguese” He spoke slowly. I looked at him for a second. I was really amazed the kind of concern he had shown. He took so much of pain to ask me about my wellbeing. I didn’t exactly know how to respond. The earlier feeling of ‘alien country, unbelonging, skin types, language differences’ all of these became meaningless. It was the sense of human concern which was ultimately prevailing in the air. I somehow came back from my thoughts and thanked him for his concerns. He smiled and offered his hand for a handshake.

The aeroplane has landed meanwhile and now was moving slowly on the runway. He again typed on the phone screen: “Are you an America.”

“No. I am an Indian. ” I replied. He gave a wide smile and retyped in google assistant: “Is India a good country to live.”

I laughed and replied: “Oh yes. Crowded but very beautiful.”

He again started typing on his phone screen with his thin fingers. “I wish people here would have felt so about this country as well.” he typed.

I had no response this time. I asked him his name. His name was Peter. I thanked him again and picked up my bag. I started walking towards the exist. The plane was on the ground now and the door had been opened for the exit. I came out and started walking in the corridors of Rio airport.

Suddenly Peter came in front of me and said: “Your name. Sorry. Forgot.”

I smiled and told him my name. I took out a visiting card and gave it to him. He smiled and replied: “Thanks for liking my country.” We hugged each other and both of us left in different directions.

I was thinking “How true. Love is in the air.”

 

Dear Colleagues,

The JNUTA elections are taking place in a backdrop where we the teachers are finding it difficult to go about our normal teaching and research activities. Every day brings a new issue (ranging from role of statutory bodies, selection committee, evaluation process, student selection criteria, dismantling of important institutions of redressal like GSCASH, undoing of accepted norms in administrative appointments, the shrinking space for grievance redressal, attendance and this listing can go on) to deal with, even as pre-existing ones like housing etc. remain unresolved. On many such questions, the predictability and certainties that teachers had in the past are fast disappearing and the prevalent uncertainties are ever increasing.

Most importantly, the zones of the individual autonomies of teachers and those of collectives are continuously shrinking. Academic decisions have become increasingly arbitrary, irrational and impractical. Deep frustration and a sense of suffocation is what the teacher in JNU feels today. This is not because we as teachers have been unwilling to engage in a dialogue but because we are faced with an Administration that chooses to be completely unresponsive to reasons and logic.

What is more distressing is that there are efforts to break the trust within the JNU teaching community, which has been it’s biggest moral strength. We are being told that the fault lies at the teachers’ end. At the same time, surveillance is being introduced through things like CCTV cameras, biometrics and attendance. This is also being done to deviate attention from crucial concerns of teachers like issues of the promotions, the improved working conditions, the housing and implementation of the pay commission, etc. The Administration has made imposing its writ on the University an end in itself, and has routinely indulged in humiliation, harassment and victimization of the teachers. The present Administration has seemingly burnt the bridges of dialogue. In the face of such an assault, what is the choice that teachers in JNU have?

One option is to capitulate and submit completely to the Administration and wait for the crumbs that may be occasionally thrown in our direction. However, along with defending teachers’ interests, JNUTA has always protected the democratic ethos of this premier public institution and therefore cannot be a silent spectator to its destruction. JNUTA a collective expression of the teachers’ rights demands for improved, inclusive and equitable working conditions. It believes in negotiations as well as assertion for this purpose. These options are not alternatives to each other but are complementary. It is only the assertion that can realize negotiations that will yield fruits on the demands and concerns of the teachers. We will never be heard if we don’t insist that we must be heard. Our collective understanding should be effectively expressed and asserted for dialogue and negotiations.

In doing so, we must draw appropriate lessons from the experience thus far. It is only in the coming together, in thought and in action, that we can vest our hopes and aspirations. This is the perspective that this inclusive panel, which combines experience with innovative ideas, represents. If given the responsibility to lead the JNUTA, we will be dedicated to forcefully articulate the collective understanding of the teachers before the JNU Administration. This is an open and inclusive agenda, and expresses a firm resolve to achieve our collective goals. It is for taking JNUTA forward on this agenda that we seek your support.

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President:

SONAJHARIA MINZ, SC & SS

Vice- President (two posts):

DEVENDRA KUMAR CHOUBEY, CIL/SLL & CS &

PARTHO DATTA, SAA

Secretary:

SUDHIR KUMAR SUTHAR, CPS/SSS

Joint Secretary (two posts):

ARCHNA NEGI, CIPOD/SIS &

GHAZALA JAMIL, CSLG

Treasurer:

RAKESH KUMAR, CCSEAS/SLL & CS

SCHOOL REPRESENTATIVES

SSS: PRADEEP K. SHINDE & VIKAS RAWAL

SC & SS: KARAN SINGH

SIS (no election): S.N. MALAKAR & MOLLICA DASTIDER

SAA (no election): Y.S. ALONE

SLL & CS (no election): AJMER S. KAJAL & KAUSHAL KUMAR

Special Centres (no election): CHIRASHREE DASGUPTA

POLLING

Date: January 31, 2018.

Time: 10 am to 5pm.

Venue: School of International Studies

प्रिय साथियों,

JNUTA के ये चुनाव ऐसी पृष्ठभूमि में हो रहे हैं, जहां हम शिक्षकों की हमारी आम शैक्षणिक और शोधपरक गतिविधियाँ मुश्किल हो रही हैं। हर दिन एक नई चुनौती के साथ आता है (वैधानिक निकायों की भूमिका, सेलेक्शन कमिटी, विद्यार्थी मूल्यांकन प्रक्रिया (viva-voce), विद्यार्थी चयन योग्यता, GSCASH जैसे महत्वपूर्ण संस्थानों का खात्मा, प्रशासनिक नियुक्तियों में मान्य नियमों का उल्लंघन, सुनवाई के सिकुड़ते स्पेस, उपस्थिति जैसे कई मुद्दे इस सूची में आ सकते हैं), और आवास जैसे पहले से मौजूद मुद्दे भी अनसुलझे हैं। ऐसे कई मुद्दों पर शिक्षकों की पहले जैसी अनुमानितता और निश्चितता तेजी से गायब हो रही है और जारी अनिश्चितताएं भी निरंतर बढ़ रही हैं।सबसे महत्वपूर्ण बात यह है कि शिक्षकों की व्यक्तिगत और सामूहिक स्वायत्तता का दायरा लगातार सिकुड़ रहा है। शैक्षणिक निर्णय लगातार मनमाने, तर्कहीन और अव्यवहारिक बन गए हैं। जेएनयू के शिक्षक आज गहरी निराशा और घुटन महसूस करते हैं। ऐसा इसलिए नहीं है कि शिक्षक के रूप में हम संवाद या वार्ता के लिए तैयार नहीं हो रहे हैं, बल्कि इसलिए है कि आज हम ऐसे प्रशासन का सामना कर रहे हैं जो तर्क और विवेकसम्मत बातों से मुंह मोड़े हुए हैं.

सबसे ज़्यादा परेशान करने वाली बात यह है कि जेएनयू शिक्षक समुदाय के आपसी विश्वास (जो इसकी सबसे बड़ी ताकत रही है) को भंग करने के प्रयास किए जा रहे हैं| हमें कहा जा रहा है कि गलती शिक्षकों की है| ठीक इसी समय सीसीटीवी कैमरा, बायोमेट्रिक्स और उपस्थिति के माध्यम से निगरानी की जा रही है। ऐसा पदोन्नति (CAS), बेहतर कामकाजी परिस्थितियाँ, आवास, वेतन आयोग के लागूकरण, और Pension और PF जैसी शिक्षकों की ज़रूरी चिंताओं से ध्यान भटकाने के लिए भी किया जा रहा है। प्रशासन ने स्वयं को ही विश्वविद्यालय मान लिया है और नियमित रूप से शिक्षकों के अपमान, उत्पीड़न और अत्याचार में लिप्त हैं| वर्तमान प्रशासन ने संवाद के मंचों को ख़त्म कर दिया है। ऐसे हमले के समय में जेएनयू में शिक्षकों के पास क्या विकल्प हैं?

पहला विकल्प प्रशासन के सामने पूरी तरह से समर्पित हो जाना और उन टुकड़ों की प्रतीक्षा करना है, जो कभी-कभी हमारी तरफ फेंके जा सकते हैं। हालांकि, शिक्षक के हितों की रक्षा के साथ-साथ,JNUTA ने हमेशा जेएनयू जैसी विख्यात सार्वजनिक संस्था के लोकतांत्रिक चरित्र को सुरक्षित रखा है और इसलिए यह इसके विनाश का मूक दर्शक नहीं हो सकता। JNUTA बेहतर, समावेशी और न्यायसंगत कामकाजी परिस्थितियों के लिए शिक्षकों के अधिकारों की मांगों की सामूहिक अभिव्यक्ति है। यह इस उद्देश्य के लिए जितना वार्ताओं (negotiation) में विश्वास रखता है, उतना ही दृढ़ता से उठ खड़े होने (assertion) में रखता है। ये विकल्प एक-दूसरे के सामानांतर नहीं हैं, बल्कि पूरक हैं। यह केवल दृढ़तापूर्वक खड़ा होना ही है, जो वार्ताओं को संभव बनाता है और जिनसे शिक्षकों की मांगे और सरोकार पूरे होंगे| यदि हम हमें सुने जाने पर जोर नहीं देंगे तो हम कभी नहीं सुने जाएँगे| हमारी सामुदायिक समझ प्रभावी ढंग से व्यक्त की जानी चाहिए और संवाद तथा वार्ताओं के लिए जोर देना चाहिए।

ऐसा करते हुए हमें अपने अनुभवों से उचित सीख अवश्य प्राप्त करनी चाहिए। केवल एकजुट होने – कथनी और करनी में- से ही यह संभव है कि हम अपनी आशाओं और आकांक्षाओं को पूरा कर पाए। यही परिप्रेक्ष्य है, जो इस समावेशी पैनल, जिसमें अनुभव और अभिनव विचार दोनों एक साथ है, में दिखाई देता है। यदि हमेंJNUTA के नेतृत्व की जिम्मेदारी सौंपी गई, तो हम सशक्त रूप से जेएनयू प्रशासन के समक्ष शिक्षकों की सामूहिक समझ स्पष्ट करने के लिए समर्पित होकर काम करेंगे। यह एक खुला और समावेशी एजेंडा है और हमारे सामूहिक लक्ष्यों को प्राप्त करने के लिए व्यक्त दृढ़ संकल्प है। इस एजेंडे को आगे ले जाने के लिए हम आपका समर्थन मांगते हैं|

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अध्यक्ष-

सोनाझरिया मिंज़, SC & SS

उप-अध्यक्ष (दो पद)-

देवेन्द्र कुमार चौबे, CIL/SLL & CS &

पार्थो दत्ता, SAA

सचिव-

सुधीर कुमार सुथार, CPS/SSS

संयुक्त सचिव (दो पद)-

अर्चना नेगी, CIPOD/SIS &

गज़ाला जमील, CSLG

कोषाध्यक्ष

राकेश कुमार, CCSEAS/SLL & CS

स्कूल प्रतिनिधि-

SSS: प्रदीप के. शिंदे & विकास रावल

SC & SS: करण सिंह

SIS (निर्विरोध): एस.एन. मालाकार & मोलिका दस्तीदार

SAA (निर्विरोध): वाई. एस. अलोने

SLL & CS (निर्विरोध): अजमेर एस. काजल & कौशल कुमार

Special Centres (निर्विरोध): चिराश्री दासगुप्ता

मतदान:

दिनांक: 31 जनवरी, 2018.

समय: 10 बजे से शाम 5 बजे तक

स्थान: 344, अंतर्राष्ट्रीय अध्ययन स्कूल (SIS-II)

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